Toronto-based food processing company Maple Leaf Foods Inc (MFI: TSX) has announced it is exploring strategic alternatives for its bakery business, including the possible sale of Canada Bread Company Ltd, a manufacturer and marketer of value-added flour-based products. Maple Leaf, which has a 90% interest in Canada Bread, has formed a committee of directors to oversee the process and recommend the use of proceeds in the event of a sale. Maple Leaf is a portfolio investment of West Face Capital, which acquired its stake in the company from Teachers' Private Capital in 2010.
5 min read · 21 October 2013
Caesars Entertainment Inc is pulling out of a $1 billion casino joint venture in Boston and said a subsidiary was subject to a federal grand jury investigation into money laundering, sister news service Reuters reported.
2 min read · 21 October 2013
Merlin Entertainments, whose attractions include the Madame Tussauds waxworks and Legoland theme parks, plans to sell at least 20 percent of its shares in a stock market debut in London next month, sister news service Reuters reported.
3 min read · 21 October 2013
Canadian investment fund Fairfax Holdings (FFH.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has become the third-biggest shareholder of Greek industrial group Mytilineos (MYTr.AT: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), acquiring a 5 percent stake worth about 30 million euros ($41 million), Reuters reported. The deal confirms a trend of overseas funds placing small investments in the bailed-out country, betting on a recovery from its deepest postwar economic slump.
2 min read · 21 October 2013
U.S. private equity firm Vicente Capital Partners said Monday that it has bought a "significant" equity stake in iBwave Solutions Inc. No financial terms were disclosed for the transaction, which was done jointly with Farol Asset Management. As a result of the deal, Klaus Koch of Vicente and Krishnan Ramaswami, an advisor to Vicente's growth equity fund that participated directly in the investment, joined iBwave's board of directors. Based in Montréal, iBwave is a provider of in-building wireless software and training solutions. Update: Based in Los Angeles, Calif., Vicente specializes in both non-control and control investments in businesses with annual revenues between $5 million and $50 million.
3 min read · 21 October 2013
Tellabs Inc, which helps telecommunications carriers manage traffic on their networks, said it agreed to be bought by private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners for $891 million, sister news service Reuters reported.
1 min read · 21 October 2013
Ares Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are buying Neiman Marcus for more than $6 billion but their equity check is coming in low.
2 min read · 18 October 2013
Canada’s venture capital industry today features a number of high-powered women occupying senior positions on the investment and executive teams of their firms. However, the presence of female VCs in the top ranks of their organizations might be more the exception than the rule, according to a new report produced by MaRS Data Catalyst, the research arm of Toronto-based innovation hub MaRS Discovery District.
3 min read · 18 October 2013
Venture capital market activity in the United States saw a total of US$7.8 billion invested in 1,005 deals in the third quarter of 2013, up 12% in dollar terms from three months earlier, according to the MoneyTree™ Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data provided by Thomson Reuters. To date this year, U.S. market activity is tracking slightly ahead of activity in 2012. Software deals led trends in Q3 2013, accounting for US$3.6 billion invested. Nine of the 11 largest investments in the third quarter went into software companies.
9 min read · 18 October 2013
Vancouver, B.C.-based Tapstream Inc, a marketing dashboard for app developers, announced on its website blog that the company has secured $700,000 in seed-stage financing. The round was led by BDC Venture Capital, the venture investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada, with the participation of angel investors. Founded in 2012 by CEO Slaven Radic and CTO Ben Fox, Tapstream provides technology that helps app developers see which websites, emails, tweets or web ad units are driving users and visitors.
1 min read · 18 October 2013
